As a researcher who works on fruit flies, I often get asked how to get them out of someone’s kitchen. This happens to fly researchers often enough that we sit around fly conferences (these actually exist) and complain about getting asked this question.

Meanwhile, we watch the same fruit flies buzz around our beers instead of discussing pithy and insightful questions about the research that we’re pursuing.

But I get it: Fruit flies are annoying. So, fine, here’s how we get rid of them in my lab: We build a trap. It’s not perfect, but it’s OK.

1. Take a small jar (we use small canning jars) and pour in cider vinegar to about two centimetres deep.

Thomas Merritt, who researches fruit flies, shows you how to kill them. (Thomas Merritt), Author provided
Flies fly in and can’t find their way out. Every day or two, replace the vinegar.

Instead of vinegar, you can also use beer or wine, but I prefer to drink one of these while making the traps.

There is actually a little science behind the trap. Fruit flies — at least Drosophila melanogaster, the most common fly buzzing around your bananas — are attracted to aging fruit, rotting fruit in particular. They lay their eggs there and the larvae hatch and feed on the soft, overripe flesh.

To find that fruit, flies use their sense of smell, what we call their olfactory system. What they are sensing, smelling, are things like acetic acid — the molecule that gives vinegar its pungent punch. So, you could bait your trap with fruit, but vinegar jumps right to the chase and lures them in.

The flies flying around your kitchen likely came from outside. Drosophila melanogaster are originally an African species, but they’ve spread across the globe. We call them a “cosmopolitan” species — they’re found wherever people are.

Where flies come from and why we research them
The story of how they’ve adapted to so many different environments (like, for example, the tip of Florida or even northern Ontario, where I live) is an interesting one and a hot topic of current research. The flies that buzz around my fruit bowl, at least in the summer and fall, likely came from a local population. I’ve actually done work on flies we collected from the composter in my backyard.

Interestingly, the combination of a tropical species, a cool day and a warm house is likely why there seem to be more flies in the fall. As the temperature outside goes down (and even on cool summer nights where I live), the flies come inside where it’s warm. Where do the flies go in the winter? We actually don’t know. We know they can’t freeze and live, so our best guess is they hide away in basements waiting for warm weather. There’s actually a name for this idea. We call it the “Root Cellar Hypothesis.”

Nothing burns belly fat faster than crunches, which occupy the number one position in fat-burning exercises. Now, it’s time that you start performing this exercise.

How To Do

Lie down flat on a mat with your knees bent and feet on the ground. Alternatively, you can also lift your legs off the floor at a 90-degree angle. (See picture).
Lift your hands and place them behind your head, or keep them crossed on your chest.
Inhale deeply, and as you lift your upper torso off the floor, exhale.
Inhale again as you get back down, and exhale as you come up.
Do this for 10 times as a beginner.
Repeat another two to three sets.

Once you get used to the regular crunches, modify the basic crunch to get an even more effective tummy exercise.

Lie down on the floor with your hands behind your head.
Bend your knees as you would do in crunches, keeping your feet on the floor.
You have to lift your upper torso while performing crunches. But, in twist crunches, you have to lift just your right shoulder towards the left, keeping the left side of your torso on the ground.
Again alternately, lift your left shoulder towards the right, keeping the right side of your torso on the ground.
Repeat 10 times.

This is same as the twist crunch exercise. The only difference is that you need to tilt your legs to the same side simultaneously with your shoulders. The side crunch focuses on the muscles on your sides.

Precautions

Make sure you keep your movements steady and slow. The midsection, being a complex area, could hurt if you perform the twists in a hurried fashion.

Keep your back straight while performing the exercise, as arching it can result in pain, and in some cases, even injury.

5. Vertical Leg Crunch:
vertical leg crunch Pinit
Image: shutterstock

How To Do

Lie flat on the floor, or on the mat, with your legs extended upwards (towards the ceiling) and one knee crossed over the other.
Now that you have positioned your body perfectly, do the same as you would have done in the case of crunches. That is, breathe in and lift your upper body from the floor towards the pelvis.
Breathe out slowly. As you bring yourself down, breathe in again, and exhale as you go up.
Do 12 to 15 reps and up to three sets.
Precautions

Start by doing only a few repetitions of this exercise, as it can make you feel sore if you overdo it initially.

6. Bicycle Exercise:
No, you don’t need a bicycle for this. Thinking how you can do this? We’ll tell you.

bicycle crunch exercise Pinit
Image: Shutterstock

How To Do

Lie on the floor and keep your hands either by your sides or behind your head as you do in crunches.
Lift both your legs off the ground and bend them at the knees.
Bring your right knee close to your chest, keeping your left leg away.
Now take your right leg away and bring your left leg close to your chest.
Keep doing this as if you are paddling a bicycle.